A Special Force
by Rebe1Queen
Summary: Space can be lonely, but not if your apart of the N7 Special Forces Squad. Follow the missions of the Special Forces team as they rid the galaxy of the Reaper invasion, and save each other, one heart at a time. This is a series of smaller stories based off of ME3 multiplayer characters. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**A Special Force**

This series of stories is a collaboration between myself and my dearest HazardWolf. On a whim we decided to give our Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer characters a little life of their own. This is the fruit of that labour. Neither of us know where this series of stories is going to take us, but we hope you will join us on this journey, wherever it might lead.

As always, Bioware owns us all ;)

RQ

**Aidan Cass and Naliya Sayer**

"Aidan, you've been drinking again." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yeah, and what of it?" Aidan retorts, sitting back on the soft cushions of the chair.

"You know you shouldn't turn to alcohol to bury your past."

Aidan snorted. "Doc, you have no idea what they did to me. How it fucked me up."

"How can I know what Cerberus did to you, if you won't tell me." The doctor pleaded with him.

Aidan sat forward in the chair once more. His hazel eyes grew hard and cold as he stared at the doctor sitting across from him. He ran a hand through his unruly brown hair. "If I told you what I've seen, what I've done, you'd be the one needing the fucking shrink."

Aidan pushed himself out of the chair and strode out of the doctor's office. His broad shoulders were set in anger and his hands were clenched.

"Alright listen up," their commander barked. "We've received intel that Cerberus troops are massing in their base on Noveria. We need you to take out the Cerberus operatives and stop them from attacking any nearby systems. You have your orders. Get in there and get it done."

The commander looked at each of the four N7 Special Forces team seated before him on the shuttle. His eyes lingered on Aidan, but the young man's face was impassive. The commander sat near the head of the shuttle and waited for the drop off.

Aidan's eyes flicked to each of his team members in turn. A huge man sat beside him, a career soldier no doubt. His dark face was scarred and his hair was buzzed short. His name was Dimitri, but Aidan liked to call him Dim. Across from the soldier was a salarian infiltrator, Quillik. The salarian looked over his sniper rifle with care, seemingly oblivious to the others. Seated directly across from him was the only female in this group. She looked so small compared to the rest of them. Her mahogany hair was pulled into a bun, her helmet sitting beside her on the bench. She was concentrating on her omni-tool, its glow lighting her face in a soft orange. Aidan had never worked with her before, as she was new to the special forces teams. She was the best engineer in her previous squad and was inducted into the special forces with top honours.

She glanced up to see Aidan looking at her. She gave him a soft smile and returned to her work on her omni-tool. Naliya needed to be sure that her drone was working up to par. It had been giving her some grief as of late, but it was nothing that she couldn't figure out.

The shuttle arrived near the Cerberus base, hovering just above the ground.

"This is it team. Suit up" The commander opened the door on the side of the shuttle. Each of the team members donned their helmets, save for the salarian. He gave Naliya a smirk when she looked at him in disbelief. The salarian hit a button on his belt and Naliya saw a shield flicker around his entire body. She smiled and nodded, fastening her own helmet to her armour.

The soldier was the first member off the shuttle, automatically pulling his assault rifle to his shoulder. The salarian jumped out next and immediately cloaked, zipping ahead of the rest of the team. Aidan leapt out, grasping his M-99 Saber tightly. He turned to look at Naliya and held out a hand to help her down. She took Aidan's hand and jumped to the ground. Aidan beckoned her forward as he started after the others. Naliya drew her pistol, the M-5 Phalanx, and moved up with the rest of the team.

They reached the perimeter of the Cerberus base. Quillik's voice sounded in their headsets.

"I've got a collection of troopers and a couple centurions in my sights. They're fully armed, but they don't suspect we're here."

Dimitri grunted into his comm link. "Keep us covered. We're going to enter the main building from the back. Hopefully we can get in without being spotted. Let's move people." Dimirti started moving down the slope and toward the first building of the compound.

Quillik sniped the patrolling troopers, paving the way for the rest of the special forces team. Dimitri held the lead, Aidan and Naliya following close behind. Entering the main building, Dimitri looked back and signaled Quillik to move up. He then proceeded into the empty building, his gun at the ready. Coming through the other side of the narrow building, the team entered a series of catwalks. They continued along, coming to the edge of the main base. It overlooked a cliff, a guard rail running the length of the precipice. A large building sat on the team's left and an open area to the front. Using hand signs, Dimitri signaled Aidan and Naliya to enter the open building, while himself and Quillik followed on the outside. Aidan and Naliya left the protection of cover and made their way to the entrance to the building. Dimitri and Quillik moved passed them using the side of the building for concealment.

Aidan motioned Naliya to stay on the other side of the doorway. She summoned her drone, telling it to wait by her for the time being. They could soon hear the sounds of gunfire coming from the outside of the building and Aidan moved in. Naliya followed closely behind him. As the pair entered the roughly squared section of the room, they were pleased to see the enemies were distracted by the commotion outside. Aidan silently pointed Naliya to a section of electronic consoles and she hid behind them.

Aidan sauntered forward and tapped one of the troopers on the shoulder. The trooper jumped a foot and spun around to stare at Aidan, standing there in his shining, dark purple armour. Naliya saw Aidan's helmeted head tilt to one side from where she was hidden. He activated his biotic whips and twirled them around in his hands. The trooper raised his weapon and Aidan attacked. He sent his twin whips flying in an arc around him. The trooper was sent soaring as more Cerberus troops gathered into the confinements of the room.

Naliya sent her drone into the ensuing fray, peeking over her console to shoot at the enemies as they entered range. Aidan kept pushing the Cerberus troops back out the other door and into Dimitri and Quillik's line of fire. The special forces team kept the pressure on the Cerberus operatives, however they began to hear chatter over the radio. Cerberus was calling in reinforcements.

The team kept advancing on the Cerberus soldiers, making their way through and around the building. Naliya could hear the unmistakable booming footfalls of an Atlas. It was coming from behind them. She warned Dimitri and Quillik over her comm and grabbed Aidan as a rocket raced over head. Aidan was taken by surprise, but once he saw the Atlas, he was on his feet again. Leading Naliya, Aidan ran around the corner and up the stairs at the end of the hall. They reached a landing covered in crates. Naliya ducked behind the crates and Aidan followed suit. They could hear the advancing of the Cerberus reinforcements. Naliya's drone began firing rockets down the stairs from where they had come. She stood and began firing at the enemies. Aidan dropped a singularity at the stairs leading up from the landing. He could see troopers heading down in their direction. They were pinned.

Aidan saw the telltale laser sight of a nemesis' gun. It hovered around Naliya before alining itself on her helmet. "Get down!" Aidan cried. But Naliya did not move. It was like she was frozen, her legs locked. Without another thought, Aidan grabbed Naliya around the waist and hauled her to the ground. He noticed a small alcove behind them that he dragged her into. Naliya turned her attention to her omni-tool for a moment, and Aidan saw her drone take on a more aggressive behaviour. He released another singularity, catching several troopers and the nemesis in its pull. Aidan charged into the fray, lashing his biotic whips around him and hurling bodies everywhere.

Between their combined efforts, Aidan and Naliya cleared their path of the enemy. Aidan sat on one side of the alcove opening and Naliya was on the other. Aidan pulled a silver flask from his hip and, removing his helmet, took a long drink. He could see Naliya's head turn in his direction. He was awaiting the inevitable, but it never came. Naliya removed her own helmet instead and looked at him. Her eyes were the brightest blue he had ever seen and there was pain in those eyes. Much like he had seen in his own. He looked at the flask and offered it to her. She took it and had a quick drink. Her face scrunched up and she stuck out her tongue, but she handed it back to him gratefully.

Aidan laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Sorry. It's strong stuff. I should have warned you." He took one more drink before replacing the flask on his hip.

"What was it?" she quietly asked him.

Aidan smiled at her. "Jack Daniels. It's been around forever." He paused and looked at her once more. "I thought you were going to give me shit for drinking."

Naliya didn't look at his beautifully scruffy face, but held her gaze steady on some far away object. "We all have our demons." she said softly.

Aidan looked at her with unabashed curiosity, but didn't push her for answers. Maker knows he didn't like to pushed. He held his hand out to her across the doorway. "Aidan Cass."

She looked at him with a shy smile and placed her hand in his. "Naliya Sayer."

Removing her hand from Aidan's, Naliya replaced her helmet on her head. He looked at her across the doorway.

"Ready to go fuck up someone's day?" he asked her with his largest, most charming smile.

He could just make out her eyes through her reflective visor. They crinkled in the corners and he knew she was smiling. She nodded in response and reloaded her Phalanx.

"Get to the extraction area." The commander's voice echoed over their comm links.

The team converged onto the landing pad, keeping aware of any potential enemies that might be left in the area. The shuttle arrived in moments, the side door sliding open. Aidan and Dimitri lifted Naliya in, and then hoisted Quillik in after her. The men leapt in behind and the shuttle door closed with a bang. The mission was a success.

Aidan entered the lower bowels of the ship. The SSV Orion was the largest alliance vessel he had ever been on, and he was still finding all the hiding areas. Opening the door into a small workshop in the cargo hold, Aidan was greeted by the familiar sight of Naliya. She was sitting at a metal table, bathed in soft blue light as she worked on an object laying across it. The rest of the room was dark, only Naliya and her tabletop were visible. Her hair was down, cascading over her shoulders in soft waves.

He sauntered in and she looked up as the door closed behind him.

"Hey." she smiled at him.

"Hey there." he flashed her a charming smile and held up the prizes he carried in his hands for Naliya to see. "Jack for me, and a little something for you." he winked at her, handing over one of the bottles. "I know you and Jack don't get along."

Naliya took the bottle and looked at the label. "Asari Ice Wine." her eyes flick from the label to Aidan and back again. "and it's blue. Lovely. Thank you." She set the bottle beside her on the silver tabletop.

"Naliya, is that a . . . human leg?" Aidan stared at the object laying across her table, pointing at it. His hazel eyes glowed with curiosity in the soft light from the lamp.

Naliya's face suddenly reddened, as if she had forgotten it was even there, but she composed herself quickly. "Ah, yes, actually it is." scooting her chair closer to the table, she opened her hands wide to draw attention to the piece of machinery laying before her. "It's the latest development in prosthetics for humans. My professors put me in contact with an engineering company, and they requested my help in troubleshooting the design." Aidan leaned over to examine the leg as Naliya explained how it worked. "But you see, Aidan, the servos in the knee keep locking up and through all my tests I haven't been able to determine why. I can't tell if it's a glitch in the software programming, or if it's one of the minute gears slipping or seizing." Naliya sighed, putting her chin on her hands. "I just don't know."

Aidan sat in a chair opposite her at the table. "You'll figure it out. You're the best engineer I've ever met, and you're as sharp as a whip." Aidan smirked at his own joke. "You'll figure it out. I know you will. Now crack that thing open and let's have a drink."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – Aidan and Naliya**

"Alright listen up everyone," the commander was addressing the Special Forces team on the shuttle, as they were traveling to their next destination. "This is T'lak." the commander motions toward the batarian soldier standing before him. "He's got some intel concerning a reaper incursion on one of the planets in this system. He'll be joining you on this mission."

T'lak nodded to each of them in turn, his nostrils flaring slightly.

The others looked at him with moderate interest, but Naliya looked horrified. Her anger bubbled to the surface and before she could control it, she was on her feet. "NO!" She cried. "You have to be kidding me? We're supposed to trust the intel of a _batarian_?"

"Naliya, this is not up for debate." the commander said with an eerie compassion in his voice.

"The reapers are the enemy of my people as much as they are to yours, human." T'lak interrupted.

"Your people? _Your people_ destroyed my home! They killed my parents and separated my brother and little sister from me. _Your people_ took my leg!" Naliya shouted at T'lak pointing her finger at his chest in rage. Tears started to pool in her eyes and she stormed toward the back of the shuttle and into the small cargo hold.

Aidan took a step to follow her, but felt T'lak's hand come to rest on his shoulder.

"Tell her, for whatever it's worth, I'm sorry."

Aidan nodded to him once and continued toward the back through the door that separated the sections of the shuttle.

When Aidan slipped through the doorway, he saw Naliya crying. One of her hands was entwined in a black webbing on the wall used to store gear, her other arm was covering her eyes. Aidan's heart leapt into his throat. He wasn't sure what he could say or do to make her feel better, but he was going to try. Taking a steadying breath, Aidan walked forward, not bothering to mask his footfalls. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Naliya." He whispered softly, but only her tears responded. "So . . . that was your leg on the table then?" Aidan asked her tentatively.

Aidan could hear a snort, that might have been laughter, and Naliya was nodding her head.

"Yeah." she answered, finally lowering her arm. "The batarians attacked the colony that my family lived on when I was 10. They killed my parents and took my brother Regg and my little sister Tiana. I don't know if they're even alive. The batarian soldiers that attacked our house had wounded my legs pretty badly. I was fighting and kicking the entire time. I guess they decided to stop me from kicking." Naliya waved her free hand in the air, as if dismissing a memory. "Anyway, they completely destroyed my left leg and my right was badly wounded. When they got me to their transport vehicle, their superior was furious. They threw me aside and left me for dead. Some of the survivors found me and managed to get me to a hospital. They could fix my right leg, but they had to remove the left. They couldn't save it. I've had different prosthetics as I grew up, but nothing like this one. Unfortunately, the knee . . well you know." Naliya stopped and looked at Aidan. She was worried he would walk out on her, like so many had before him.

But Aidan was different.

Aidan cupped his hand along her jaw. He knew pain too, maybe not like hers, but he understood. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak. It took him a couple of tries, before he was finally able to articulate the words in his heart.

"Naliya, I know what it means to hurt." he looked away, his eyes filled with sadness and regret. "I was an operative for Cerberus. They put me into Project Phoenix. I don't expect you to know what that is, and I guess I don't fully understand it either, but I do know what they did to me. Their scientists experimented on me, fucked with my biotic implant, who the fuck knows what else they've messed with. My body is in constant pain from this . . thing and that's why I drink. No one understands, because I won't let them. They don't really care." Aidan paused for a breath, looking at Naliya with wide, pleading eyes. "But you, Naliya, you know what it's like. You know what it feels like to hurt and to be lost and alone – I can see it in your eyes. I haven't told anyone about Project Phoenix, not a single soul. Just you."

Aidan had walked away from her as he had spoken, but now he returned to her side in a flurry. "I'm drawn to you in a way that I've never experienced before, and now I know why." Aidan paused again. "We're both broken."

"Aidan . . ." Naliya's voice wavered with sorrow, not for her own loss, but for Aidan's.

He looked into her gentle eyes as he cupped her face once more. She didn't flinch at his touch or show any fear of him. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

She still didn't push him away.

"So, Aidan. Purple?" Naliya looked at Aidan seated beside her on the shuttle.

He looked down at his armour and pouted at her. "I happen to like purple, okay?" he was teasing her. "And besides, mine is at least a nice, rich colour. You've got this whole bluey-purple duochrome thinggy going on. What's that about?" he folded his arms over his chest in mock-disgust.

Naliya laughed, garnering the attention of T'lak and Quillik. "I happen to like blue, okay?" she mimicked his tone. "I'm not nearly as flashy as you." she smiled at him good-naturedly.

"Alright," Aidan raised his hands in defeat. "If you really must know, Miss Inquisitive, I like this colour because the enemy can see it. If they see it, they don't see you and you're safe. And when they do see this armour, they know their death is imminent." Aidan leaned back on the bench triumphant.

"Good answer." Naliya giggled, shaking her head.

"Cut the chatter. We're here." the commander barked. "Suit up, we're dropping you in hot."

The reapers were everywhere. The team was divided and the comm links were misfiring. Only a fraction of what they said to each other actually made it to the recipient. Aidan has lost all contact with Naliya. He pushed through waves of enemies to attempt to find anyone from his squad, but he was having no luck. He was hidden behind a few large shipping containers when he spotted Naliya's drone floating passed.

"Hey," he whispered, hoping it would acknowledge him. "Here. Over here."

The drone swiveled in Aidan's direction, its optical senor getting larger and then smaller as it determined he was not an enemy.

"Hey . . drone . . where's Naliya?" he asked the glowing orb. _"She never goes anywhere without this damn thing."_ he thought to himself.

"Mistress has classified me as PSIMAN. She requested I find the purple-suit, Aidan, and bring him to her. Are you Aidan-being?" the drone looked him over once more.

"Yes!" Aidan had to control his outburst. "Yes, I am Aidan . . being. Where is your mistress?"

The drone was silent, but began to travel through the reaper encampment. Aidan was on his feet in a flash, and followed closely behind PSIMAN.

Aidan destroyed all manner of reaper standing in his path. The drone was actually quite useful in combat, he had to give the little guy credit. PSIMAN stopped, hovering near a collapsed section of concrete wall. Aidan's heart skipped about a thousand beats and his mind was racing. Leaping over the largest chunks of debris, he found Naliya's body. She was covered in grey dust and her legs were pinned under a larger section of the wall. Aidan dropped to his knees, ripping off his helmet.

"Naliya?" he softly pleaded, "Naliya, please wake up." he carefully removed her helmet and set it beside him. "Naliya? Naliya!" His voice became more urgent as he tried to wake her.

She didn't respond.

Aidan grabbed a pouch from his pocket and pulled out a small box of medi-gel. He placed the medi-gel on his hands and began to rub it into Naliya's skin. He whispered her name with each pass of his hands over her.

After what felt like an eternity, Naliya's eyes fluttered open. Aidan grabbed her in a hug, careful not to jar her, as her legs were still pinned. He released her from his grip and turned his attention to her legs. Aidan caught sight of the cybernetics of her left leg. Her armour had been broken open, the skin covering the mechanics and the silver frame of her leg exposed. Aidan removed a glove and touched his fingers to the fake skin.

"Feels real doesn't it?" Naliya asked him softly. "This is the closest analogue to replicating a real living limb as science can get. I would normally be able to feel you touching me. The impulses that are sent into my implant are no longer firing. I'll have to fix it back on the ship."

Aidan looked at her as he replaced his glove. "I'm going to smash this debris off of you, okay?" Aidan looked at her imploringly. "Please don't move."

Naliya nodded and covered her head with her hands as Aidan stood from beside her. She could hear him take a deep breath and cry out, bringing his dual biotic whips down on the concrete slab. The wall crumbled into tiny rock and dust under Aidan's attack. Naliya scooted herself backward and away from the debris. Aidan knelt beside her once more.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently.

"Yes, I'm fine. But Aidan, I gotta tell ya. You're crazy."

"Crazy for you." he leaned into her and kissed her passionately.

"I might suggest mistress, that we depart the area. I have located your squad-mates." PSIMAN's robotic voice split the silence.

Naliya sighed against Aidan's scruffy cheek. "Duty calls."

Aidan grinned and replaced Naliya's helmet, then his own. He scooped her up into his arms and followed PSIMAN through the mess that was thermal clip casings and dead reapers.

"Illusive Man, you wanted to see me sir?"

"Yes Mr. Leng, I did." The Illusive Man took a long drag from his cigarette. "The participants in Project Phoenix, Aidan Cass to be specific, his control chip is still fully functional, correct?"

"Yes sir. I have double checked myself. It is in perfect working order."

The Illusive Man's metallic eyes gleamed in the light of his lit cigarette. "Good."


End file.
